The government intends to subsidise local government tasks related to supporting families and the foster care system. To this end, the Labour Fund will be increased from PLN 40 million to PLN 62.5 million in 2024. The funding will be used for salary supplements for people who perform the functions of professional foster families and run foster family homes. The details of the subsidy will be defined in the government programme. The government plans provide for the allowances under the programme to amount to PLN 1,000 gross, to be paid as of 1 July 2024.

Professional foster carers running professional foster families and foster family homes offer protection to children deprived of parental care and children who need to be taken away from their biological families for their own safety. By supporting them, we are helping to create conditions for the care and upbringing environment for children that is as close as possible to a family home - Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk emphasised.

The solution contained in the draft adopted by the Council of Ministers will apply to almost 3,000 people: about 2,100 people acting as professional foster families, including about 360 foster families acting as family emergency centres and about 250 specialist professional foster families, as well as about 800 people running foster family homes.

Employees will also receive support

Last week, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft law submitted by the Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy amending the Act on social assistance and certain other acts, enabling the implementation of programmes supporting not only the employees of social assistance organisational units and institutions run by local governments that provide care of children up to the age of 3 but also those who work in the foster care and family support system (family assistants, foster family care coordinators, employees of foster care centres, persons employed to assist professional foster families and foster family-type homes based on an employment contract, employees of regional foster care and therapy centres, employees of intervention pre-adoption centres and employees of day-care support centres).   

Welfare of children and families prioritised

On 29 February this year, a round table on foster care was held on the initiative of Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk with representatives of the entire foster care community in Poland, non-governmental organisations, local governments and government administration represented as well.

Our aim is the well-being of children, the well-being of every child, the well-being of families who care for these children and the welfare of the foster care system that is so important and has been so neglected recently - Minister Agnieszka Dziemianowicz-Bąk said at the time.

The roundtable set up five working teams to develop recommendations for systemic solutions to best care for children:

- family foster care, including professional parenting,

- systemic support for foster care and the empowerment of care-experienced adults,

- institutional foster care, including changes in the functions of foster care facilities,

- supporting children with special needs placed in foster care,

- promoting foster parenthood.